Author: Melib Scott

The pleasantly salty air whistled in Emil’s ears as it traveled freely over the vast, open sea and the lively coastal town. The ship in which he was soon to board was flooded with both personal belongings and products alike. He spent his last moments with his family, hearing the all too familiar mentions of growing healthy, becoming a man and finding a lovely woman to spend his time with. He was drowned in sweet caresses, hair ruffles, hearty laughter and cute kisses from his loved ones. It seemed to end all too soon once the crew had called out for him, alerting that preparations were now complete. Weight fell to his Icelandic heart as never before had he left his own home country. Indeed, this was all he knew. His mother shouted to him as he gathered his cased violin before boarding the ship.

“Já, mamma! I’ll eat everyday! Don’t you worry!” The crew yelled, communicating to each other in a lingo that Emil had zero understanding of. He made damn sure to stay out of their way as these men rushed around to fill their last duties before sailing: raising the anchor, releasing the sails, discussing the wave height and strength along with wind speed and its direction. As the ship finally began getting distance from the harbor, Emil turned to his family for one last goodbye, blowing a kiss out for them. It was sweet to see his silly younger sister catch the kiss and place it on her cheek. Oh how much he’ll miss them. He’ll return one day with even more riches to bless his family with. For now, he chose to busy himself by going through his inventory.

Emil was now proud to call himself a traveling merchant. Since managing to form a partnership with Los Lobitos in Spain, he was ecstatic to come sale his wares in good ‘ol España. The next goal would be to gain the trust of the Grecian. If he kept racking up partnerships, ooh~ He shouldn’t let the thought of greed come to mind though. To drive himself away from such thoughts, Emil reminded himself of what his father mentioned just before his depart. The man mentioned the unfortunate curse of having easily getting seasick, however Emil was anything but. The gentle, steady rocking of the ship had lulled him into a sweet rest.

And, oh, how he wished it had lasted. Emil was abruptly awoken to the sound of the crew screaming desperately to each other. The hurry and despair in their voices drowning out each other immediately forced Emil into his own state of panic. Having moved to quickly sit up proved immediate regret as he smashed his forehead on an inconveniently placed beam, throwing him into a temporary dazed state. He doesn’t recall having fell asleep here in the unfamiliar quarters, but on the open deck. Despite his current state, he managed to stumble outside and onto the deck to see what in the world was going on all of a sudden.

Just then the ship was impaled, sending a sudden shock amongst the crew and nearly tossing Emil overboard had he not managed to cling to a dangling rope. Trying to the best of his ability, he dragged himself back on top of the ship only to lay witness on the horror before him. With ringing ears and a blurred vision, he could see the madness of two ships colliding for a massively uncontrolled battle. Pirates! The blades clashed in an annoying ting ting that only threatened to worsen Emil’s headache. The smoke from the gunshots mixed in well with the darkened and toxic air rising from the flames spreading along the ship. The blood of both sides painted the battlefield, covering both what was once lovely wood and a splatter on Emil’s cheek.

And so helplessly did he sit there on the floor doing nothing as he watched the men around him get slain. Puzzled, stiff, shaking, and horrified beyond belief. Even as the well-dressed individual made a slow stride towards him, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Was this person approaching him the captain of the attacking ship? Just laying eyes on such a thing sent chills down Emil’s spine. This was it. This was how he died, huh? Stabbed at sea, with no survivors to relay that information to his longing family. Here he was, thinking of the absolute worse in this situation. Perhaps he could get out of this by surrendering. Emil didn’t dare to look up at the captain, and kept his gaze fixed on their boots which were mere inches away from him.

Exploring proved to be a mistake. Lukas’ curiosity got the best of him as he had the sudden urge to voyage south. He had been told many stories about how the south was rid of ice entirely. In fact, it didn’t even snow. So of course, he wanted to see this so called ‘sun-drenched’ tropical wonderland. It was hard to imagine life as such a thing. A place that knows no season? Seems mythical. Preposterous. Fabled. You know what else seems unreal? The fact that Lukas now stood on his ship dumbfounded and angered. Before him was an opposing ship, which used tactics he had not seen before. These people certainly did not fight like vikings, and because of that, Lukas began to take this as an embarrassing defeat. There was nothing he could do as his own ship was set afire. Roped anchors flew past his head dangerously to wreak even more havoc as these foreign enemies were able to use such weapons to force the ships close to each other. They were going to board his ship. Were these the so called ‘pirates’ he had been told about? Either way, Lukas clutched tightly to his grimoire, ready to combat the leader of this aggressive ship. He refuses to surrender. His eyes scanned along the battles amongst the crews in search of who he assumed was the one in charge. All the while, he cast upon spells to those in his way of his search.

I am — without a doubt — not a morning bird. Dawn is a battle against will, energy, and the drive to continue the manmade function of digital time. Though, in here, weekdays, ends and holidays are a myth. Here, there is but night and day, and I loosely keep track of that.

In the brief period of gazing through barred glass, my skin welcomes the kiss of the sun’s warm rays. A match is flicked upon my gas-drenched veins; creating a living, breathing, burning desire to sprint past these leering predators and into the city of the grand but vastly unknown.